This article is about the official history published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office. For a timeline of the history of World War II, see.
Source: US Holocaust Memorial Museum Timeline of The Second World War September 18, 1931 Japan invades Manchuria. Discover Book Depository's huge selection of World War 2 Books online. Free delivery worldwide on over 17 million titles.
The History of the Second World War is the of Britain's contribution to the and was published by (HMSO). The immense project was sub-divided into areas to ease publication.
Military operations are covered in the United Kingdom Military Series, the United Kingdom Civil Series covers aspects of the civilian war effort and the Foreign Policy series; the Intelligence series and the Medical series are eponymous. There are other volumes not under the aegis of the series but were published by HMSO and may be read as adjuncts, as they cover matters not considered in great detail or in one case at all in the main series.
Further volumes, published after the of HMSO or in the series about the, are also useful. The volumes were intended to be read individually, rather than in series, which led to some overlapping but in their introductions to their parts of the series, Sir and Sir wrote that this was to obviate a need to read more volumes than cover the part of the war effort being studied; Hancock edited the Civil Series and Butler the Military Series; the first volume appeared in 1949 and the last in 1993, with a revised edition of another volume appearing in 2004. An unorthodox decision was to cover the conflict from a point of view rather than by services, to acknowledge that military operations were intimately linked. The original works lacked references to unpublished sources when published before 1970.
Government archives were opened to an extent by the and the. The works were published with only references to published sources. British constitutional conventions on the anonymity of government officials and ministers were also followed, leading to a somewhat detached narrative style in some cases. A parallel series of volumes for official use were printed, which referenced the unpublished sources in manuscript, in red ink.
A few official copies escaped into public libraries and these additions can be seen.
Indian infantrymen of the about to go on patrol on the in Burma, 1944. During the (1939–1945), was controlled by the, with the British holding territories in India including over five hundred autonomous; officially declared war on in September 1939.
The British Raj, as part of the, sent over two and a half million soldiers to fight under British command against the. The British government borrowed billions of pounds to help finance the war. India also provided the base for American operations in support of China in the. Indians fought with distinction throughout the world, including in the,, in the defending India against the Japanese and fighting the Japanese in Burma. Indians also aided in liberating British colonies such as and after the Japanese surrender in August 1945.
Over 87,000 Indian soldiers (including those from modern day,, and ) died in World War II., of the Indian Army from 1942 asserted the British 'couldn't have come through both wars [World War I and II] if they hadn't had the.' The supported the British war effort while the largest and most influential political party existing in India at the time, the, demanded independence before it would help Britain.
London refused, and when Congress announced a 'Quit India' campaign in August 1942, tens of thousands of its leaders were imprisoned by the British for the duration. Meanwhile, under the leadership of Indian leader Subhas Chandra Bose, Japan set up an army of Indian known as the, which fought against the British. Led to millions of deaths by starvation, and remains a highly controversial issue regarding Churchill's reluctance to provide emergency food relief. [ ] Indian participation in the Allied campaign remained strong. The financial, industrial and military assistance of India formed a crucial component of the British campaign against Nazi Germany and.
India's strategic location at the tip of the Indian Ocean, its large production of armaments, and its huge armed forces played a decisive role in halting the progress of Imperial Japan in the. The was one of the largest Allied forces contingents which took part in the and,. At the height of the World War, more than 2.5 million Indian troops were fighting Axis forces around the globe. After the end of the war, India's emerged as the world's fourth largest industrial power and its increased political, economic and military influence paved the way for its independence from the United Kingdom in 1947. Prominent Indian leaders, including Gandhi, Patel and Maulana Azad, denounced Nazism as well as British imperialism.
The, led by, and, denounced but would not fight it or anyone else until India was independent. Congress launched the in August 1942, refusing to co-operate in any way with the government until independence was granted. The government wasn't ready for this move. It immediately arrested over 60,000 national and local Congress leaders, and then moved to suppress the violent reaction of Congress supporters.
Key leaders were kept in prison until June 1945, although Gandhi was released in May 1944 because of his health. Congress, with its leaders incommunicado, played little role on the home front. The rejected the Quit India movement and worked closely with the Raj authorities. Supporters of the British Raj argued that decolonisation was impossible in the middle of a great war. So, in 1939, the British Viceroy, Lord Linlithgow declared India's entry into the War without consulting prominent Indian Congress leaders who were just elected in previous elections. (also called Netaji) had been a top Congress leader.
He broke with Congress and tried to form a military alliance with Germany or Japan to gain independence. Japan helped him set up the (INA) which fought under Japanese direction, mostly in. Bose also headed the, a government-in-exile based in. It controlled no Indian territory and was used only to raise troops for Japan. British Indian Army [ ]. Main articles:,,,, and The British government meanwhile sent Indian troops to fight in and northern against the Axis.
India also geared up to produce essential goods such as food and uniforms. Pre-Independence India provided the largest volunteer force (2.5 million) of any nation during World War II. The, and Indian Divisions took part in the against Rommel's.In addition, the 18th Brigade of the 8th Indian Division fought at Alamein. Earlier, the 4th and 5th Indian Divisions took part in the against the Italians in, and capturing the mountain fortress of Keren. In the, Indian gunners played an important role by using guns in the anti tank role and destroying tanks of Rommel's panzer divisions.
Was the battery commander of 41 Field Regiment which was deployed in the anti tank role. He was awarded the DSO for his act of bravery.
Later he became the Chief of Army Staff of independent India in 1967. South-East Asian theatre [ ]. An Indian prisoner of war from after liberation in 1945 The British Indian Army was the key British Empire fighting presence in the. The Royal Indian Air force's first assault mission was carried out against Japanese troops stationed in Burma. The was key to breaking the siege of Imphal when the westward advance of Imperial Japan came to a halt.
The formations included the,, the and the. As part of the new concept of Long Range Penetration (LRP), troops of the Indian Army were trained in the present state of Madhya Pradesh under their commander then krishnasamy (later Major General) Orde Charles Wingate. These troops, popularly known as, played a crucial role in halting the Japanese advance into South Asia. Capture of Indian territory [ ]. Main articles:,, and By 1942, neighbouring was invaded by, which by then had already captured the Indian territory of.
Japan gave nominal control of the islands to the on 21 October 1943, and in the following March, the with the help of Japan crossed into India and advanced as far as in. This advance on the mainland of South Asia reached its farthest point on India territory, retreating from the in June and from on 3 July 1944. [ ] Recapture of Axis-occupied territory [ ] In 1944–45 Japan was under heavy air bombardment at home and suffered massive naval defeats in the Pacific. As its Imphal offensive failed, harsh weather and disease and withdrawal of air cover (due to more pressing needs in the Pacific) also took its toll on the Japanese and remnants of the INA and the.
In spring 1945, a resurgent British army recaptured the occupied lands. The invasion of Italy [ ]. A soldier (of the 4th Division (the Red Eagles) of the Indian Army, attached to the British Fifth Army in Italy) holding a captured flag after the surrender of Nazi German forces in Italy. Behind him, inscriptions on the mural says VIVA IL DUCE, 'Long live the Duce' (). Photo circa May 1945 Indian forces played a role in liberating Italy from Nazi control.
India contributed the 3rd largest Allied contingent in the after US and British forces. The, and Divisions and led the advance, notably at the gruelling.
They fought on the in 1944 and 1945. Collaboration with the Axis powers [ ]. See also:,, and Several leaders of the radical broke away from the main Congress and went to war against Britain., once a prominent leader of Congress, volunteered to help Germany and Japan; he said Britain's opposition to Nazism and Fascism as 'hypocrisy' since it was itself violating human rights and denying individual liberties in India.
Moreover, he argued that it was not Germany and Japan but the which was the enemy, since the British were over-exploiting Indian resources for War purposes. Bose suggested that there was little possibility of India being attacked by any of the Axis powers provided it did not fight the War on Britain's side. Captured soldiers of the British Indian Army who refused to join the INA were executed by the Japanese.
Berlin was encouraging but gave little help. Bose then approached Tokyo which gave him control of Indian forces it had organised. The (INA), formed first by, consisted initially of prisoners taken by the Japanese in Malaya and at who were offered the choice of serving the INA by Japan or remaining in very negative conditions in POW camps.
Later, after it was reorganised under Subhas Chandra Bose, it drew civilian volunteers from Malaya and Burma. Ultimately, a force of under 40,000 was formed, although only two divisions ever participated in battle. Intelligence and special services groups from the INA were instrumental in destabilising the British Indian Army in the early stages of the Arakan offensive. It was during this time that the British Military Intelligence began propaganda work to shield the true numbers who joined the INA, and also described stories of Japanese brutalities that indicated INA involvement. Further, the Indian press was prohibited from publishing any accounts whatsoever of the INA. As the Japanese offensive opened, the INA was sent into battle. Bose hoped to avoid set-piece battles for which it lacked arms, armament as well as man-power.
Initially, he sought to obtain arms as well as increase its ranks from British Indian soldiers he hoped would defect to his cause. Once the Japanese forces were able to break the British defences at Imphal, he planned for the INA to cross the hills of into the, where it was to work as a guerrilla army and expected to live off the land, garner support, supplies, and ranks from amongst the local populace to ultimately touch off a revolution. Prem Kumar Sahgal, an officer of the INA once Military secretary to and later tried in the first Red Fort trials, explained that although the war itself hung in balance and nobody was sure if the Japanese would win, initiating a popular revolution with grass-root support within India would ensure that even if Japan lost the war ultimately, Britain would not be in a position to re-assert its colonial authority, which was ultimately the aim of the INA and. Troops of the guarding the in France in March 1944. As Japan opened its offensive towards India, the INA's first division, consisting of four Guerrilla regiments, participated in in 1944, with one battalion reaching as far as Mowdok in.
Other units were directed to Imphal and Kohima, as well as to protect Japanese Flanks to the south of Arakan, a task it successfully carried out. However, the first division suffered the same fate as did Mutaguchi's Army when the siege of Imphal was broken. With little or no supplies and supply lines deluged by the Monsoon, harassed by Allied air dominance, the INA began withdrawing when the 15th Army and began withdrawing, and suffered the same terrible fate as wounded, starved and diseased men succumbed during the hasty withdrawal into Burma. Later in the war however, the INA's second division, tasked with the defence of and the adjoining areas around Nangyu, was instrumental in opposing Messervy's when it attempted to cross the river at Pagan and Nyangyu during the successful by the Allies the following year. The 2nd division was instrumental in denying the the area around that would have exposed the Flank of Kimura's forces attempting to retake Meiktila and Nyangyu. Ultimately however, the division was obliterated. Some of the surviving units of the Army surrendered as Rangoon fell, and helped keep order till the allied forces entered the city.
The other remnants began a long march over land and on foot towards Singapore, along with Subhas Chandra Bose. As the Japanese situation became precarious, Bose left for Manchuria to attempt to contact the Russians, and was reported to have. The only Indian territory that the Azad Hind government controlled was nominally the. However, they were bases for the Japanese Navy, and the navy never relinquished control. Enraged with the lack of administrative control, the Azad Hind Governor, Lt.
Loganathan, later relinquished his authority. After the War, a number of officers of the INA were tried for treason. However, faced with the possibility of a massive civil unrest and a mutiny in the Indian Army, the British officials decided to release the prisoners-of-war, in addition the event became a turning point to expedite the process of transformation of power and independence of India. The lukewarm support for Indian Independence shown by Germany and Japan masked their real ultimate goal - if they had won World War II they would have divided Asia in two along the. [ ] Bengal famine [ ]. Child who starved to death during the Bengal famine of 1943 The region of Bengal in India suffered a devastating famine during 1940-43.
Some of the key reasons for this famine are: • ever increasing financial and resource needs due to the war; • the Japanese invasion of Burma which cut off food and other essential supplies to the region; • mismanagement by Indian regional governments; and • an increase in demand partially as a result of refugees from Burma and Bengal. Indian Economist (1976) challenged this orthodoxy, reviving the claim that there was no shortage of food in Bengal and that the famine was caused by inflation. The British government denied an urgent request from, the Indian secretary of state, and, the Viceroy of India, to stop exports of food from Bengal in order that it might be used for famine relief., then prime minister, dismissed these requests in a fashion that Amery regarded as '-like,' by asking why, if the famine was so horrible, had not yet died of starvation. Indeed, he refused to allow free relief shipments of food from the and into Bengal on the grounds that the food was needed more elsewhere and because the Japanese Navy was patrolling the Bay of Bengal. [ ] Princely states [ ] During World War II, in 1941, the British presented a captured German Bf109 single-engined fighter to the, in return for the funding of 2 RAF fighter squadrons. There was a campsite for Polish refugee children at, built by, Jam Saheb Maharaja of in 1942, near his summer resort. How To Install Cgi Proxy Server.
He gave refuge to hundreds of Polish children rescued from Poland and Soviet camps. The campsite is now part of the. See also [ ] • • • • • • Notes [ ].
• ^ Kux, Dennis. India and the United States: estranged democracies, 1941–1991. DIANE Publishing, 1992.. • 4 November 2015 at the., page 44.
Figures include identified burials and those commemorated by name on memorials. Archived from on 24 May 2015. Retrieved 24 May 2015. • • • • • Frank Moraes (2007)..
Jaico Publishing House. • Sankar Ghose (1993).. Allied Publishers. Gordon, Brothers Against the Raj: A Biography of Indian Nationalists Sarat & Subhas Chandra Bose (2000) • Compton McKenzie (1951). Eastern Epic. Chatto & Windus, London., p.1 • Peter Liddle; J. Bourne; Ian R.
The Great World War, 1914-45: Lightning strikes twice. HarperCollins, 2000.. Young and Howard Gerrard, Meiktila 1945: The Battle To Liberate Burma (2004) • ^ Bose, Subash Chandra (2004). Azad Hind: writings and speeches, 1941–43. Anthem Press.. • Aldrich, Richard J. (2000),, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, p. 371,, retrieved 6 November 2013 • Horn, Steve (2005).
The second attack on Pearl Harbor: Operation K and other Japanese attempts to bomb America in World War II. Naval Institute Press.. •, p. 292,298 • • Khan, Yasmin (2008). The Great Partition: The Making of India and Pakistan. • • Manu Pubby (4 November 2006).. Indian Express.
20 December 2010. Retrieved 7 May 2016. 10 November 2013. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
Welcome to Sainik School Balachadi. 27 April 2016.
Retrieved 7 May 2016. Further reading [ ] • Bandyopadhyay, Sekhar. From Plassey to Partition: A History of Modern India (2004) • Barkawi, Tarak. 'Culture and Combat In the Colonies: The Indian Army In the Second World War,' Journal of Contemporary History (2006) 41#2 pp 325–355 doi=10.11406062071 • Brown, Judith M. Modern India: The Origins of an Asian Democracy (1994) • Brown, Judith M. Gandhi: Prisoner of Hope (1991) • Fay, Peter W. Wiz Khalifa Party All Night Long Free Download.
(1993), The Forgotten Army: India's Armed Struggle for Independence, 1942-1945., Ann Arbor, University of Michigan Press.,. • Gopal, Sarvepalli. Jawaharlal Nehru: A Biography (1976) • Herman, Arthur. Gandhi & Churchill: The Epic Rivalry that Destroyed an Empire and Forged Our Age (2009), pp 443-539.
• Hogan, David W.. World War II Campaign Brochures. Washington D.C.:.
CMH Pub 72-5. • Jalal, Ayesha.
The Sole Spokesman: Jinnah, the Muslim League and the Demand for Pakistan (1993), • James, Lawrence. Raj: the making and remaking of British India (1997) pp 545-85, narrative history. • Judd, Dennis.
The Lion and the Tiger: The Rise and Fall of the British Raj, 1600–1947 (2004) • Karnad, Raghu. Farthest Field - An Indian Story of the Second World War (Harper Collins India, 2015) • Khan, Yasmin. India At War: The Subcontinent and the Second World War (2015), wide-ranging scholarly survey; also published as The Raj At War: A People's History Of India's Second World War (2015)' • Marston, Daniel.
The Indian Army and the end of the Raj (Cambridge UP, 2014). • Moore, Robin J. 'India in the 1940s', in Robin Winks, ed.
Oxford History of the British Empire: Historiography (2001), pp. 231–242 • Mukerjee, Madhusree. Churchill's Secret War: The British Empire and the Ravaging of India during World War II (2010). • Raghavan, Srinath. India's War: World War II and the Making of Modern South Asia (2016).
Wide-ranging scholarly survey • Read, Anthony, and David Fisher. The Proudest Day: India's Long Road to Independence (1999); detailed scholarly history of 1940–47 • Roy, Kaushik. 'Military Loyalty in the Colonial Context: A Case Study of the Indian Army during World War II.' Journal of Military History 73.2 (2009): 497-529.
• Voigt, Johannes. India in The Second World War (1988). • Wolpert, Stanley A. Jinnah of Pakistan (2005).
External links [ ] • Media related to at Wikimedia Commons.